


Paperwork

by ArtissR0pita



Series: one... or two? [2]
Category: Trollhunters (Cartoon)
Genre: anyway strickler is jim's dad! sorry i don't make the rules, probably gonna revise the heck out of this, strickler and barbara are Good Friends, this is absolute shit, this needs work i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-29 23:42:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15739701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtissR0pita/pseuds/ArtissR0pita
Summary: Strickler hates paperwork. This months-long process is exhausting. Is it even worth it? His wrist is cramping from all the signatures, the constant flipping through sheets, calling DSS and being put on hold for three weeks.At least there's no home study.





	Paperwork

**Author's Note:**

> hey there i thrive off of jim and strickler having a healthy loving relationship
> 
> this was written way too late at night and i'm exhausted so take it or leave it i guess thanks
> 
>  
> 
> this also kindaaa takes place in the same timeline as "her becoming". this fic was loosely inspired by PAW_07's comment on that, saying they hoped i went more alternate universe rather than rewriting the show. i think they suggested "like strickler's already engaged to his mom, or something hilarious like that." they're not engaged, but.... (big thank you to PAW_07 though thanks sm :))))

 

“Stay away from my mom!” Jim hissed, eyes narrowed to thin blue slits, small teeth bared in unexpected fury. He snatched up his bag and papers, shoulders sagging almost immediately. Strickler was like a deer in the headlights. This sort of behaviour was completely unexpected. It was a barely kept secret that Strickler favoured Jim. (Of course, it wasn’t as if he graded him leniently or anything. Strickler was a stickler for hard earned good grades.) His better kept secret was much harder to hold in, though.

 

During his planning period, Strickler sat wearily at his desk, shuffling papers. He still needed to finish drawing up the next test for his classes. Instead, he set those papers aside and riffled for some much more important ones. His fingers traced over the words, his heart aching for the day when he could see his plan fulfilled. His aching heart then plummeted into his stomach when he remembered Jim’s outburst that morning. Strickler held his head in his hands. He knew it was silly to hold such affection for the young lad, but….

 

‘Stay away from his mother’, indeed. If only the young Lake knew. Although Strickler and Barbara had never had an official parent-teacher conference, they had been meeting rather often in the past few months, unbeknownst to Barbara’s son. He had to admit, Barbara had excellent taste- for coffee, for food, for little restaurants and corner cafés. He held a lot of respect for Barbara Lake. A single mother, working full-time in the medical industry, trying to raise and take care of a teenage boy. She was fiery and passionate, but could be gentle and kind, too. By the Pale Lady, he was going soft. 

 

Strickler pushed those thoughts from his mind. He would be meeting with Barbara again soon. They both had such busy, conflicting schedules, but they always made time to meet. It wasn’t always easy. Getting this paperwork done wasn’t especially easy, either. There was so much to fill out. Strickler had never thought he would  _ ever _ do something like this. He’d been around for centuries, had met and mingled with so many humans. He had never really fit in anywhere. And now here he was, a high ranking member of the Janus Order. Well integrated into human society. A teacher, no less! Of history! He had witnessed several topics of interest in his classes. (Not that the curriculum usually let him run that far. Getting through the Cold War, indeed. They were lucky to make it to Crimea, if that.) The building of Killahead Bridge was so long and tedious; was he getting complacent? Part of him hoped the construction was never completed. He knew changelings would never get the respect they all so desperately craved. Gunmar and his army would slaughter many of them. He would be lucky to be spared.

 

It was better not to dwell on such things. 

 

Strickler really needed another cup of coffee; his thoughts were constantly derailing. Where was his concentration today? Probably off somewhere with Jim Lake. 

 

Ah, yes. Jim. That’s where he was. And Barbara. Hopefully she had procured more of the documents they would need. Strickler had gotten most of the signatures, and was getting some other papers processed. His little side mission was rather tedious, itself, but at least there would be a better outcome than that of the Bridge.

 

Unless Jim just completely rejected him.

 

Strickler didn’t like to think that, either. (Would it be better to let Gunmar kill him and his siblings, or to have some human child never speak to him again?)

 

His ringing telephone interrupted his train of thought. “Ah, Ms Lake. Good to hear from you again. How are you?”

 

“I’m good, Walt. Great, actually! I just heard back from the people up at the office. They still want to meet you and go over some of the other information, talk to a lawyer, all that jazz, but things seem really positive!” Her voice was warm and held a hint of excitement.

 

Strickler allowed himself a small smile. “Of course. I understand completely. I’ll give them a call later, or stop by the office if I can. Our situation is rather abnormal, I suppose. I’m glad they’re working with us, though. And, thank you, again, Barbara, for all of this.”

 

“Walt, you have no idea,  _ no idea _ , how much this means to me. And how much it will mean to Jim.” He certainly hoped so. “I’m so glad I met you, Walter. Really.”

 

His chest tightened. He was so bad at dealing with affection like this. ( _ How was this a good idea? Of course Jim would never accept him. This was a big -HUGE- mistake. _ ) “Oh, Barbara…”

 

“Oh, shoot, I’m gonna have to run; Shelly just called. I’ll talk to you later, Walt, I promise, sorrygottagothankyoubye!” Dial tone. She really knew how to do it. Strickler set the phone back down, glancing back at the papers in his hand. The lines on his face softened.

 

This was going to be the best mistake he’s ever made.

  
  
  
  
  


“Ah, you must be Barbara and… Walter, is it? I’m Caroline, your case worker. It’s good to meet you both.” Caroline settled into a chair across from them, smoothing her long, light hair. “I have most of your files here with me, as well as some new forms to fill out. I don’t suppose you have any questions?”

 

Strickler shook his head, knitting his fingers together on the table, lacing and unlacing and relacing. A nervous habit. Barbara checked through the papers she had brought along, then took the new forms Caroline handed her. 

 

“Are we going to have to go to court? A lot of places kept recommending it. Would you recommend it? Oh, and would you recommend that Walter and I get married? I looked online, and it said that married people usually had an easier time, and didn’t always have to have a home study. Oh, and we don’t even live together. Is that a problem? I mean, I guess, kind of. We’re working that part out. And-”

 

Caroline laughed, putting her hands up placatingly. “Whoa, slow down a little, please, Ms Lake. We’ve been reviewing your situation thoroughly. It will still take time to finalise everything. But, rest assured, I will do everything in my power to help you both. Now, let’s start at the beginning.” She pulled out a pen, pointing at the different papers as she explained. “Oh, and you’ll need to sign here, and then Mr Strickler here will sign below that,  _ there _ , and then again,  _ here _ ,” she gestured, tapped, then continued her explanation without another pause. 

 

Barbara nodded, signing as she went, eyes scanning to make sure she agreed to everything. Walter looked over her shoulder, squinting as he read the fine print, then scrawling his signature on his specified lines. 

 

“So, no home study?” Barbara asked again. 

 

Caroline shrugged. “We’ll continue to look into it, and call you when we hear back.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder again. “Well, this pretty much covers it for today. We can go over some more, say, next week? We can schedule it later.” She straightened the papers, sorting them into each file folder. “Oh, and don’t forget that you will need James’ signature. Since he’s fifteen, you need his consent. California laws- twelve and older give consent.” Her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

 

Barbara clutched her papers to her chest as she stood. “Of course.” Strickler stood up next to her, hand gently resting on her arm. They still hadn’t discussed this with Jim. It was supposed to be a sort of surprise. Strickler wasn’t particularly superstitious, but he still crossed his fingers that Jim would agree. 

  
  
  


The sun was going down as Strickler dropped Barbara off at her house. “Thank you so much, for all of this, Walt. I know this whole deal has been long and tedious. I mean, eight months? And they still haven’t processed all this?” She waved a hand in the air, rolling her eyes. 

 

Strickler caught her hand. “At least they’re processing it. They could have outright rejected us. And then where would we be?” He chuckled lightly. Barbara smiled.

 

“Yeah.” Her smile fell. “Oh, man, but how are we going to tell Jim? He doesn’t talk about it, but I know he’s… well, you know, it can’t be easy growing up without a father.” She squeezed Strickler’s hand unconsciously. “Are we doing the right thing, Walt? Is this the best thing for him?”

 

Strickler lifted her hand to his lips, kissing it softly. “I certainly hope so.”

  
  
  


A few weeks later, Strickler found himself back at the Lake residence. He chewed his lower lip in suspense as he waited at the door. Tonight was the night. Tonight was when he and Barbara would tell Jim. His fingers nervously twiddled with the ribbon on the bottle of sparkling grape juice he had brought (he had looked at a lovely bottle of pinot noir for him and Barbara, but Jim was fifteen, and, well… sparkling grape juice was also really good, why didn’t Strickler buy this more often?). 

 

Jim opened the door. “Mr Strickler? Hey, come on in.” He pulled the door open further, letting his teacher come inside. Strickler smiled anxiously. He was worrying his lip raw. He stopped chewing his lip. Jim took the bottle from him, going to set it in the kitchen.

 

“Oh, Walt, there you are. Perfect timing, as usual.” Barbara leaned in to peck his cheek. Strickler still wasn’t used to such affection. He and Barbara were very specifically Not Dating, but they were still affectionate sometimes. He just didn’t handle it well when he was Very Anxious. And telling his favourite student he was going to adopt him was giving him the Big Anxiety. ( _ He was going to adopt Jim. This was actually happening. Waltolomew Stricklander was going to be a co-parent. _ ) 

 

Jim seemed tense, picking at his food, toes tapping nervously on the shiny floor. He kept glancing between his mother and his teacher, then staring at the table. At least Strickler wasn’t the only nervous one around here. 

 

Dinner passed fairly smoothly. Conversation was easy and light, casual. School, work, jokes. Jim only made eye contact twice, but immediately looked away both times. Strickler’s heart sank. Perhaps this wasn’t going to go over well.

 

When Barbara stood up, taking dinner dishes back to the kitchen, Strickler tried to take his opportunity. “Jim, is… is there something wrong? You’ve not been yourself this evening.”

 

Jim’s bright blue eyes shot up to meet his green ones. Strickler’s breath hitched. Jim looked away again. “I’ve just been thinking, I guess. Last time we had you over, things were way different.” Last time he was here? This was the first time Strickler had been over with both Lakes home. Wasn’t it? Jim seemed to realise his mistake when his fork stopped scraping the table. His foot stopped tapping. 

 

When Jim looked back up, his eyes were shining. His teeth caught his lip. The glimmer in his eyes sparkled as the tears started to push over the edge. His breathing hiccupped. Strickler watched in silent agony. What had he done?

 

“I’m sorry, Mr Strickler. I don’t know what came over me.” He laughed lightly as he started rubbing at his eyes with the cuffs of his blue sweatery sleeves. Even his laugh stuck in his throat. 

 

“Jim-” Strickler reached a hand out. 

 

“It’s so weird to hear you call me that.” Jim’s voice shook. “But I guess I’m not holding the weight of the world like I used to.” 

 

Strickler was even more confused.

 

Barbara saved the day by walking back in, holding a platter of whipped cream. An unusual choice, but Strickler had heard tales of her cooking, and was thankful it wasn’t worse. “You boys okay?” She slid the plate onto the table.

 

Jim’s eyes were still red, but he seemed to have recovered from… whatever that was. Strickler found himself lacing his fingers together in stress. He hid his hands in his lap.

 

“Everything’s fine,” he managed at last. His smile was strained. He wasn’t sure he could go through with this. Jim didn’t seem like he could handle this tonight. Strickler wasn’t sure if  _ he _ could handle it. 

 

Barbara seemed to be able to handle it.

 

“Jim, we have something we need to tell you.” She took a deep breath.

 

Jim shot up suddenly, his chair clattering to the floor. “No, no, no! I told you to stay away from my mother!” He pointed accusingly at Strickler. 

 

Barbara reached out consolingly to her son. “No, Jim, we’re, we’re not dating or anything like that, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

 

Jim’s eyebrows furrowed. “You’re not?”

 

“No, certainly not. The only reason we’d ever get together would be to expedite this whole thing already. And trust me, I’ve considered it.” Strickler’s words poured out before he could think about it. “Or tax benefits. Although there aren’t actually tax benefits. That’s a myth.” Strickler clapped a mental hand over his mouth. 

 

Jim picked up his chair and sat back down with a heavy  _ thump _ . “Expedite what whole thing, exactly?” His tone was wary, cautious, suspicious, even.

 

Barbara’s smile was tight. “Walter and I have been working on this for months. It was originally going to be a surprise, but, well, we need your consent. A family is supposed to communicate, right?” Her smile relaxed into something more genuine. 

 

Her son still looked suspicious. 

 

Strickler took in a breath, held it, released it. He couldn’t find the words he needed now. He had practised and rehearsed and now here he was, with nothing.

 

“I’m adopting you.”

 

Oh. That worked. Not quite how he intended it, but. Oh, well.

 

The whole room was still. Silent.

 

“What?” Jim finally choked out. 

 

“Step-dad?” Barbara offered.

“I prefer co-parent,” Strickler laughed half-heartedly. This wasn’t going to plan at all. His fears were true. Jim hated him and would never agree and Strickler would have to move to Costa Rica and change his name and never interact with any living creature ever again. 

 

Jim’s fork clattered on the table. He kept looking between the adults. “Is this… is this real?”

 

Barbara’s mouth quivered, corners tilting up. “I know it’s unexpected, and different, and I- I can’t imagine what it’s like for you, with your father gone, and now your teacher here, but Jim-” her voice cut off.

 

“I couldn’t ask for a better step-fath- I mean,  _ co-parent _ ,” his eyes were watery again, but his smile appeared genuine. 

 

Strickler found that something must have gotten into his eye. He blinked furiously, holding back his own tears. Maybe this would work out, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> almost definitely going to rewrite the ending/""reveal"" bit lmao
> 
> this is vaguely unrealistic because i'm p sure it's a law that the adopting parent has to be dating/married to the pre-existing parent for at least six months? that's what my research said. oh well, this is an au and i do what i want.
> 
> also i have No Recollection of the process when my dad adopted my brother so i'm running off research and google forgive me Please
> 
> kudos and comments give me life! i love hearing from you guys. i will accept y'all bashing me, too. if y'all have feedback or tips/suggestions, i'm all ears!!! thanks guys :D


End file.
